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No one can question Tyson Fury’s physical gifts or his skill in the ring. A massive 6′ 9″ heavyweight, Fury is best known for his lightening reflexes and his fantastic ability to work behind a powerful jab. There have been, however, plenty of questions asked about his dedication to being a pro athlete.
Despite an Amateur career that saw him win Olympic gold in 2008 and a 34-0-1 unbeaten record, Fury has had notable trouble maintaining his fitness and form over the years—battling substance abuse and depression along the way. Unified heavyweight champion in 2015, the ‘Gypsy King’ left the ring for nearly three years, abandoning his belts, before returning to competition in 2018. Despite a 9-0-1 record since his comeback, rumors that Fury may consider retiring altogether have regularly dogged the WBO champion.
Tyson Fury brushes off retirement talk, lays out future fight plan
For fans who might be extra concerned that Tyson Fury’s recent cancellation of a planned bout with Oleksandr Usyk might mean the end of his career was looming on the horizon, it seems the 35-year-old is hoping to quell his doubters. Despite delaying the Usyk bout twice now, Tyson Fury remains steadfast that he is not only preparing to face Usyk twice in the ring, but has a whole slew of future fights he’s looking to make happen.
“I keep hearing talk of people saying that I should retire or I’m going to retire soon or whatever,” Fury wrote said in a video posted to social media (transcript via MMA Junkie). “I ain’t retiring anywhere, I’ve got two fights with Usyk, for the undisputed twice. Then I’m going to fight AJ at least once. Maybe twice if there’s a rematch, if he wants one after the first battering I give him, and then I’m going to fight Ngannou again and that’s just to start. So there’s five little fights for you to wet your appetite with. I ain’t going nowhere. Nowhere. I’m 35-years-old in the prime of my life.”
Francis Ngannou preparing to return to MMA
Tyson Fury’s revelation has to be good news for Francis Ngannou, who shook the boxing world last year, when he took Fury to a narrow majority decision loss, after knocking down the Fury down early in the bout. For a debut performance that was seen by many as a walkover warmup fight for Fury on his way to fighting Usyk in December, Ngannou’s performance crowned him as an immediate threat to the heavyweight boxing elite.
When Deontay Wilder failed to pick up the win this past December, in a bout that was expected to set the stage for a long teased fight against Anthony Joshua, Ngannou was perfectly placed to step in instead. Ngannou and Joshua will face off on March 8th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Despite having talked up a Fury rematch as a top priority, however, and despite Fury’s apparent interest in making that bout happen as well, it doesn’t sound like fans should expect to see Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou 2 in 2024.
“We’ll have another event in the second half of the year, this summer likely, and we expect Francis to return to MMA in the PFL Smartcage,” PFL CEO Peter Murray announced in a recent interview with BBC sport.
Although no opponent for Ngannou’s MMA return has been announced at this time, apparently the PFL plans on making the details of the booking public during their upcoming February 24th ‘Champion vs. Champion’ PPV card. That event will feature elite talents from across Bellator & the PFL facing off in Riyadh, as the first crossover following PFL’s acquisition of the former Viacom MMA promotion. From the sound of things, it seems fans can expect to see another PFL PPV event later this year.
As for Ngannou, it seems he only has one thing on his mind at the moment, and that’s his upcoming bout with Joshua.
“They say never say never. Nothing is impossible, right?” Ngannou said of his chances against Joshua in a recent podcast interview (transcript via MMA Fighting). “We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua, but even though I don’t believe he has that strength, but we’re going to find out in two months. We’re going to find out, and I think the reverse is going to happen. I’m going to be the one taking his soul.”
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